Playing the Part

by Robin Covington

  “What are you waiting for?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Regan kisses Chance. Lays one on him that is so powerful he takes her against his better judgment. He is nothing but wanting and needing at that point. He’d kill anyone that tried to get between them at that moment.”

  Piper went breathless. He’d nailed exactly what she’d tried to convey. She raised her arms, fingers skimming the hard expanse of his chest to weave around his neck and pull his mouth closer to her own.

  “So, Piper…” Mick’s eyes darkened. He dug his fingers into her hips as he dragged her close enough to grind his erection against her belly. “Can you make me want you like that?”

  Hell, yes she could. Or die trying.

  Piper pulled his head down until she could claim his mouth. Just like the story, there was only sweet seduction, only a teasing of tongues and lips. They swayed together like that for a while, lips coaxing response, arms tight around bodies softened by desire.

  Mick teased a kiss along her brow and asked, “Why did you write this scene? What made you have to put it down on the page?”

  “You really want to know?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Is this for research? For the part?”

  He pulled her closer, twisting a curl around his fingers, and bringing her head to rest against his chest. “It’s not all about the part. These characters, what they are feeling, had to come from somewhere inside you. I wonder why you had to get them down on paper. I’m fascinated by your creative process.”

  Piper had been asked the same question in a million different interviews, and she’d always had a perfectly prepared answer—fully vetted by the publisher’s PR team—to give people. But tonight, in Regan’s kitchen and in Mick’s arm, she wanted to tell the truth.

  “This story is all about acceptance. Acceptance from others. Accepting yourself.”

  She let her mind go back to the day she’d first started writing this book. “After college, I’d come to a place where I had to stand on my own two feet. My parents, they didn’t want me to fail, but I wasn’t doing what they wanted, so they weren’t eager to help.” She eased back a little in his arms, tracing the buttons on the long-sleeved shirt he had thrown over his black T-shirt. Mick gave her the room she needed but kept her close, dancing in slow motion around the room.

  “What did they want you to do?”

  “Go into academia, like them. They’re both college professors, and I have a degree in English.”

  “But you’d wanted to move to New York and become an author.”

  Piper looked at him in surprise, eyebrow raised.

  “I did my homework,” Mick said, grinning. “I’m more than a pretty face.”

  “Apparently.” Piper laughed, leaning up to press a kiss to his smiling mouth. “But, no, they didn’t want me to go to New York and write. They hated Antonio and the whole celebrity scene even before he screwed me over. Their crowd lives quietly and doesn’t read, much less write, tacky romance novels.”

  “But people love your books. You make them happy.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m still their dirty little not-so-secret with their colleagues.”

  He shook his head, nodding in agreement. “My dad was like that about the Dark movies. He thought I was wasting my training and talent on such commercial films. Forget about the movies he made when he started in the business. Two Oscars erased all of that from the record.”

  Piper was surprised by his disclosure. His dad had always been publicly supportive of Mick’s career, but it appeared that family dynamic was the same whether you were in Georgia or Hollywood.

  “Then you know what this book is all about. Regan needs to accept herself and her mistakes or she can’t move on and be with Chance.” She twined her arms around his neck and held on as he spun them around on the floor. “Chance can’t accept that anyone would want to be with a guy like him. He’s an ex-con and is trying to figure out who he is as he starts a life away from the gang he ran with before.”

  “It seems to me like they’re both playing the part they think everyone expects them to be.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I get that.” He paused, clearly thinking about what he was going to say. “I grew up either acting on screen or acting like the kid everyone expected me to be. I was in my twenties before I figured out the difference, and that neither of those people were me.”

  “But you did.”

  Mick reached up to smooth her hair back from her face, smiling down with a sweet smile that was new. She usually loved his sexy, cocky grin best, but this one was running a close second.

  “I did. And fared better than many of the child stars I grew up with. I was okay with me once I figured out who that was.”

  “Well, Chance and Regan? During this scene they realize they are the ones who will accept them for who they really are. If they can get past their fear and baggage, they could be happy.”

  “I’ll have to work on that part.” Mick shook his head. “I don’t believe in that kind of happy.”

  The music ended. Mick released her, and they stood in the hush of the set, their breaths slow and in time with the other. There was a peace here, an easy camaraderie she recognized as something special. They’d clicked from the beginning, and after this conversation she now knew why.

  “That’s why you get paid the big bucks. To pretend that you do,” she said.

  Mick leaned down and kissed her—soft, sweet, and seductive. “Can I come home with you?” he asked. “I’m tired of pretending for today.”

  “Are you saying that you’re the real Mick Blackwell with me?”

  “As real as I’m ever going to get.”

  If that were true, then all Mick needed to do was show a little of that guy on screen tomorrow and he would nail the part. Tonight she’d realized one thing—Chance existed way beyond the words she wrote on a page because Mick was the living and breathing incarnation of her character.

  Mick Blackwell wasn’t just an actor—he was a damn romance hero.

  Chapter Six

  He fucking nailed the scene.

  Mick stood there on the set, silence filling the air, while everyone waited for Charlie Nelson to yell “cut.” At least, he thought it was silence. His heart was pounding so loudly in his ears he wasn’t sure if he would hear a bomb explode.

  When the sharp rap of the clapperboard mobilized everyone on the soundstage, he realized he hadn’t imagined the silence. As the crowd began to move on to their next tasks, the usual loud influx of voices and equipment was absent. Everyone moved with muted steps and voice, clearly affected by the scene. It wasn’t just a well-acted scene; it had transcended the realm of pretend.

  For the first time in his career, Mick had actually “become” his character.

  It was scary.

  It was fucking awesome.

  He didn’t know how he did it, but one thing was sure—no one who saw that scene would doubt he had the acting chops to do a true dramatic part. And there was only one person he wanted to share his excitement with.

  Piper.

  Her final acting advice had been crap—he’d gone home with her the night before and they’d had sex, and then after he’d headed home, she’d left him a voice mail at 3:00 a.m., telling him to think about how much he loved his car when he acted out the scene—and he’d ignored it. He’d entered the set edgy and amped, in the best way possible, similar to the excitement he experienced when he took out his motorcycle for a run on an open road or waited for the perfect wave near his house in Hawaii. When the scene kicked off, he was both chomping at the bit to do it and ready to bolt for the door. It was the most fun he’d had on a movie in ages.

  And just before Charlie yelled “action,” he’d locked eyes with Piper across the room. In that instant, all his energy, fizz, and nerves coalesced into a razor-sharp focus.

  Now he peered around the milling crowd and found her, sitting in a director-style chair ne
xt to the second cameraman, looking just as stunned as he felt. Ignoring the tugging hands of his costar, Mara, and dodging all the obstacles in his path, he stalked toward Piper, his unwavering gaze daring her to move before he got there. She stayed in place, her eyes never leaving his, her hands clenching the arms of the chair in a white-knuckled grip. He took in the flush pinkening her cheeks and the tops of her breasts where they peeked out from the low-cut top of her sundress and the glimpse of her white teeth where she bit her bottom lip in apprehension.

  “Come on,” Mick demanded, prying one of her hands off the armrest and pulling her up to follow him. He wove them through the mass of people, taking them off the soundstage, around the corner, and into his trailer.

  Once inside, he closed the trailer door by pushing her up against it, his body sinking into her soft curves as he took her mouth.

  Piper responded immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck, opening her legs to accommodate the hard length of his body, her tongue drawing his into the hot depths of her mouth. Mick growled at her response, his cock hard and heavy in his jeans, the ache of desire almost painful as he shifted to rut against her core. Piper cried out at the contact, and all he could think about was being inside, the way she’d clench around him when she came.

  He needed to be there again. Now.

  Mick reached down, cupping her ass cheeks in his hands, and maneuvered them until he could place her on top of the dinette table in the living space. Piper gasped when she landed, and moaned when he squeezed and then burrowed under the material of her skirt to touch the silky skin of her inner thighs, her ass, and finally the smooth expanse of her belly along the edge of her thong.

  “What the fuck did you do to me?” he asked. He kissed the top of her cleavage, her heartbeat pounding against his lips, and his mouth watering with the expectation of tasting her nipple once again.

  “I-I—” Piper stammered, then shivered when he slipped a finger underneath her thong and grazed the thin line of hair. “I didn’t do anything.”

  She was so wet, so hot, he was having trouble concentrating himself.

  “Yes. You did. That was all you…okay, me and you.” He shushed her when she opened her mouth and kissed her again—a mix of tongue, lips, and teeth communicating need better than any script Hollywood ever created. Suddenly anxious to feel her, he gripped her hips, yanking her forward to the edge of the table.

  Piper slid her hands from his chest down to his crotch, where the pressure of her fingers against his fly and hard erection underneath caused him to suck in a huge gasp of air.

  “You’re crazy,” Piper breathed on a pant of air. “I had nothing to do with that amazing thing you did out there.”

  “It was you.” He couldn’t believe what he was thinking. This was crazy. Actors were a superstitious lot, and he was taught old-school style by people who looked for any change or nuance in their existence to feed their craft. In his gut he knew this change was due to Piper—not that it signaled a real connection or emotion—but being with her had tapped into his creative psyche. And his psyche was apparently in direct communication with his dick. “Didn’t you feel it? The crazy buzz?”

  “I…” She looked upward, her eyes rolling. “I wrote a little…after you left last night.”

  “After you made me leave.”

  “You were happy to go.”

  He ignored her.

  “Were they any good? Your pages?” He knew the answer before she answered. The flush deepening across the creamy expanse of her lush breasts and the smug smile tugging at her lips told him all he needed to know.

  “Yes. They were good.” Piper smiled full-on, her head shaking in disbelief. “But that didn’t have anything to do with us.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” Mick leaned in, licking the seam of her lips until she opened to him on a moan. He rocked against her, smiling to himself when the kiss ended on another moan from her. “You don’t want to jinx something like this. We need to do it again. Just to be sure.”

  “I think we are. If you didn’t realize that, then I must be doing this wrong.” She laughed, giving his erection a firm stroke through the denim before working on his zipper.

  And then suddenly the trailer door flew open.

  Lewis burst into the space, the door slamming behind him as he stopped in his tracks, gaze raking over the sight before him: Piper on the counter with her dress hitched up around her thighs, Mick with his jeans halfway undone, and both bearing all the earmarks of the soon-to-be-fucked.

  “Mick, I need to talk to you,” Lewis drawled, his gaze lingering on Piper and assessing her with a perverse criticism that made Mick’s blood boil and his fists clench.

  Releasing her from his embrace, Mick stepped in front of Piper, giving her time to fix her appearance while he refastened his jeans. “Lewis, did you ever think of knocking?”

  “I didn’t know you had company. Although knowing you, I should have assumed as much.”

  “Feel free to get out.” Mick glanced behind him, saw that Piper’s clothes were back in order. He walked the two paces to stand nose-to-nose with his manager. “What is so important that you just come in here unannounced?”

  “Stop ignoring my calls and I wouldn’t have to track you down. I came on set just in time to see what you did in there—along with a couple of reporters, who couldn’t wait to blab about how awesome you are.” Lewis paused, glancing at his smartphone before continuing. “The same reporters who followed the two of you over to this trailer and who saw the photos.”

  “What photos?” Piper popped her head around his shoulder, her voice nowhere close to the sexy purr of a few moments earlier.

  “Hi. I’m Lewis King, Mick’s manager.” Lewis glanced down at his smartphone and tapped the screen. “I just put a call in to your agent’s office. He’s on his way over so we can talk about the club party tonight.”

  “What club?” Mick asked.

  “The new one opened by those two guys who are minor Greek royalty or something. It’s a Dark promo thing, and you signed up ages ago.”

  Mick groaned. “Make an excuse. Those guys are assholes, and the club will suck.”

  “This is a request from the big guys at the studio. You have to go.” Lewis didn’t look regretful. He was too busy trying to peer around Mick to get a good look at Piper. “And your publisher thinks you need to make an appearance, as well.”

  “What are you talking about?” Piper edged Mick aside, the tension in her body hardening all her curves.

  “You and Mick here turned up on all the celebrity blogger sites with your lip-lock at La Bella two nights ago. You were also seen leaving together and going to your place, where Mick left at around 2:00 a.m. The pictures created a bidding war among the magazines, which delayed them getting posted for a day. But they’re juicy.” Lewis gave her a nice, slow look this time. He assessed her looks, and Mick could see his mind calculating the trend value of this kind of publicity. “You two together are hot news, and this opp is perfect. You guys go out. Show everybody that you’re currently hooking up, and it all wraps nicely for promo for the Dark movie and this one.” He waved a hand in Piper’s direction. “Apparently, your publisher thinks you’ll get some publicity for those books you write.”

  “No,” Piper replied quickly, her voice low and firm. “No publicity.”

  A knock on the door preceded Piper’s agent, Chris, who entered the trailer. “Piper, I talked to your publisher’s marketing department, and they want you to do visible promo with Mick while you’re here.” He flicked a derisive glance in Mick’s direction. “You know how I feel about that.”

  Piper shook her head, arms crossed and eyes flashing with anger. “No way. They’ve spent the last year telling me to keep out of the spotlight. I have. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve done what they asked. They can’t change their minds now.”

  Lewis stepped in, saying, “I’m sure you realize that being seen with Mick as his latest girl will only help you, right?”

&nb
sp; Piper’s back went rigid, and Mick decided to intervene and make it sound less like Lewis was his pimp. He and Piper were both in the entertainment business—just different media—and being seen together would generate great publicity. He’d rather take Piper home and ravage her body all night, but he could still do that after the club opening.

  “It could be fun. A little dinner and dancing at the club.” He took her hand, loosely stroking the soft skin on the back with his thumb. “If it sucks, we can go somewhere else.”

  “And have my name listed in People or one of the many blog sites as Mick Blackwell’s latest piece of ass? No, thanks.” Piper ripped her hand out his grip and moved toward the door. Mick stepped forward to block her path, coming face-to-face with her fury. She was almost shaking with her emotion, eyes bright and lips set in a grim line.

  “Hey, what do you think is going on here?”

  “Did you set this all up? This publicity stuff?” She spat out the question.

  “No. But I’m not turning it down, either. All we’re talking about is little photo opp for the public. No big deal.” Mick really didn’t understand why she was reacting this way. It was how things worked, and they could help each other out.

  “Yeah. No big deal until you take the next girl out, and then the media plasters my face all over the front pages as the woman men love to dump. And then the questions will start rolling in if I’m going to freak out again. No, thanks.” Piper shoved past him, rushing out of the trailer and leaving nothing but the door swinging on its hinges to serve as proof that she was ever there in the first place.

  “What a bitch,” Lewis grumbled.

  “Shut the fuck up,” Mick and Chris both barked out in unison.

  Lewis ignored the two men glaring at him. “I guess I’ll line up one of the new models the studio suggested for your date tonight. Would you like a blonde, brunette, or redhead?”